Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/University of Granada

Granada, .—The origin of this university is to be traced to the Arab school at Cordova, which, when the city was captured by St. Ferdinand in 1236, was removed to Granada and there continued. When Granada in its turn fell into the hands of the Catholic sovereigns one of their earliest and chief cares was to secure the preservation of letters and the art of imparting knowledge, in which the Arabs had been so well-versed, and the school was taken under their protection. However, it did not receive the status of a university until the reign of Charles V, when a Bull of erection, dated 1531, was issued by Clement VII. The institution is endowed with privileges similar to those enjoyed by the Universities of Bologna, Paris, Salamanca, and Alcalá de Henares. The large building which it occupies was erected by the Jesuits and is admirably suited to its purpose. The curriculum covers a wide field, the faculties including those of law, medicine, social science, etc. The university has a seismological station in the observatory of Cartuja. The magnificent library contains 40,000 volumes, and includes a polyglot Bible, several valuable works of theology, and some Arabic MSS.

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